As part of its continuing investigation into the alleged manipulation of western energy markets, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has sent out data requests to the top natural gas marketers seeking information related to gas prices submitted to energy trade newsletters (such as NGI) that publish gas price indexes.

Duke Energy and American Electric Power (AEP) confirmed they were among the gas marketers receiving a “broad request” from the agency for pricing information in connection with the eight-month probe into the energy trading practices and whether prices had been manipulated. The requests came in the nature of form letters that were addressed to the “Largest North American Gas Markets As Measured by 2001 Physical Sales Volumes,” spokesmen for Duke Energy and AEP said. The letters were dated Oct. 25.

At the end of last week Platts, which also surveys gas prices, said it had received a subpoena from FERC for data as part of an investigation into whether published index prices had been manipulated by traders. “We are not the subject of the investigation, but we have been subpoenaed for information,” a Platts spokesman said.

Dynegy, AEP and Williams previously had announced that several of their traders supplied false information to pricing publications and some had been fired. AEP identified Platts as the recipient of bad information. The other two did not name publications. FERC has refused to comment, saying the investigation is not public. Responses reportedly are due by Nov. 8.

Based on NGI’s ranking for 2001, the top North American gas marketers were Mirant, BP, Duke Energy, Reliant Energy, Aquila, Dynegy, American Electric Power (AEP), Coral Energy, El Paso, Sempra Energy, Conoco, Entergy-Koch Trading, Williams, Cook Inlet, PanCanadian, ExxonMobil, Dominion Energy, Anadarko Petroleum, TXU and Occidental Petroleum.

Duke Energy intends to “fully respond to the request in short order,” said spokesman Peter Sheffield, but he declined to provide any details about the type of questions being posed by the Commission staff. A source at FERC, which in the past has been open about its data requests, refused to give any information on Monday. Duke said it had begun an internal review in September of its historical prices submitted to newsletter indexes after AEP made its disclosures. ;

The Charlotte, NC-based company said it had briefly suspended reporting of pricing data “until steps to formalize its processes were put in place.” Other companies have taken similar action in the wake of the disclosures. Duke Energy said it now will require that all prices provided to newsletters be “validated and conveyed by risk management staff reporting to the company’s chief risk officer.”

Several other companies have begun submitting reports to publications which have been produced in their back offices or signed off on by their chief risk officers. Meanwhile, the Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO ccro.org), which has been set up to develop best practices for the governance, valuation, credit risk management and disclosure of energy trading activities, “has convened a panel to consider whether to — and how it might — provide guidance on the provision of price data to credible and transparent industry organizations.; Should it proceed, the CCRO would expect the guidelines to be forthcoming within the next several weeks,” a spokesman said.

In addition to FERC, a number of energy traders are the target of similar investigations being carried out by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice.

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